At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements 😉
What if you discovered a newly released book by a famous author was significantly similar to the novel you just finished writing?
No, the famous author didn't steal your idea, nor vice versa. There's no plagiarism involved.
Not that this has happened to me... At least, not just...
That would be a little unsettling! I guess I'd have to scrap my story, because people would most certainly think I got my idea from the famous author.
ReplyDeleteKinda what I was thinking...
DeleteMy first thought - crap! And then I'd scrap mine as well.
ReplyDeleteWell, That would suck but they beat me to it so i would have to go back to the drawing board
ReplyDeleteHopefully you could salvage something?
DeleteI have a feeling it would be a no
DeleteIt would depend on how similar it was. If it was possible, I'd try to change it so it doesn't look like a rip off. I'd be so bummed if I had to throw it out.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with a lot of the others and would scrap it if it couldn't be changed up to make it "unique"
ReplyDeleteI would so hope you wouldn't scrap it entirely.
DeleteI would be floored and thinking that she must be my soul sister or brother and on the same wave length as me.....which could be scary in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThat might be a good thing :)
DeleteI'd feel bummed that I hadn't had the darn thing published sooner!
ReplyDeleteLOL. True.
DeleteI'd be upset I didn't get mine done sooner for consideration to be published.
ReplyDeletebetty
Well I'd probably cry first! And then I'd try to figure out how he got into my head!
ReplyDeleteYou might like their books. Obviously you both have wonderful taste.
DeleteI bet this happens a lot, sad to say. At one point my own stories were a little too much like the series of someone I admired. Heh...
ReplyDeleteI think we all start out mimicking people's styles we admire.
DeleteFirst I would cry and scream and pull all my hair out. Then I would wait four years and query my novel using the famous author's novel as the perfect comparative title.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably every writer's nightmare. I'd send them my manuscript and ask them what they think.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good idea.
DeleteI would have to abandon my manuscript. But I would also be proud, in a way - and I would wonder, if I had sent it off to publishers first, would it have been published? (Here we assume I am an unknown, which I am in real life). Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteInteresting thought. If you were first, how would that be perceived? I wonder...
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